


I Know Who I Want To Take Me Home

by SenI



Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Adorable, Cute, First Date, First Kiss, Fluff, Funny, Humor, M/M, Oblivious Tony Stark, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-09
Updated: 2012-11-09
Packaged: 2017-11-18 07:13:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/558290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SenI/pseuds/SenI
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony has fallen for Steve, and thus wants to forego his usual playboy techniques and woo him properly. Being a gentleman can be quite taxing, not to mention the fact that Tony is out of his element when it comes to a scenic date through NYC with the blonde bombshell. Steve, however, is loving the attention and time spent alone with Tony in a romantic setting. At the end of the night, Tony still hasn't confessed his feelings for Steve. Luckily for him the Cap takes it from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Know Who I Want To Take Me Home

 

It started out harmless enough, as all things involving Tony Stark did. He wasn’t malicious or conniving by nature, no, he just knew how to get his way…most of the time. And when one has natural charm and charisma, would it not be prudent to use said attributes to one’s advantage? Again, no. He really couldn’t care less about all the fame and admiration his money and legacy brought him, despite what the tabloids would have people believe. He wanted, and felt he deserved, to be admired and sought after for his genius and engineering aspects that were slowly helping the world become a better place; the natural charm and charisma were just genetics.

 

He had been brought up adorned with certain privileges, but, as his father made it abundantly clear at every turn, he was never going to be living off of those dispensations. Lucky for him, the genius gene had been passed on as well, and he was able to make his own way in the world while still living in the luxury of his surrounded upbringing. That wasn’t to say that he was one of those supercilious, upper-class snobs that looked down on the common man; far from it. He felt every bit the working man as his office employees…except with a jet. That being said he was still used to getting what he wanted, and at this particular junction, said covet was one tall, blonde, drink of…malt. Or…whatever the 40’s equivalent was of that euphemism.

 

Tony had forgone the usual courtship technique, which Pepper liked to refer to as the “name-drop-and-wave-around-a-wad-of-cash-at-random-floozies” technique, and thought to try his hand at just generically trying to get a normal date with the guy. Pep did her usual eye roll (another of her coined Tony-isms) but gave a slight but endearing smile when Tony explained that he really did want this to go somewhere special because he had never felt this way about anyone before and he wanted it to start off right; which was true.

 

The blonde bombshell had been giving him vomiting butterflies in his stomach for quite some time now. At first Tony, and most of the others, had chocked it up to sexual tension, but the deeper he dove into that scary place where his emotions resided, he realized this was more than a “hot piece of ass” thing, this was a crush thing; maybe even more. He knew a courtly move had to be made, but this wasn’t Steve’s time and he wasn’t about to take him to a box social or whatever they had back then, so a bar was the next best thing.

 

Steve was reluctant at first; using the same old _“Everything’s so different. I don’t know my way around here anymore”_ gimmick he’d been sporting since he joined the team and Tony was having none of that. So to kind of break the ice before the bar excursion, he suggested he take Steve around New York sightseeing and they’d just pretend to be tourists for the day; checking out all the old and new landmarks and Tony could fill him in on anything he’d missed along the way. 

 

They took a carriage through Central Park (Tony didn’t let Steve see the wad of hundreds he’d slipped the driver to basically drive them wherever the hell they wanted) and Tony’s smile never felt brighter and the reactor never felt warmer than seeing Steve’s beautiful blue eyes light up at things he’d recognized and would point out to Tony, and regale him with stories of the time he and Bucky took a trip to Battery Park to play stickball and how he hit it so hard it went flying across The Lawn and Bucky had to go chase it.

 

Apart from the few streets and places around Midtown where the Tower resided, Steve hadn’t taken many trips to Manhattan, and of course so much had changed in the decades he’d been gone he might as well have been in an entirely new country altogether. Even though Steve still felt out of place, despite the few landmarks he’d seen pictures of and the sparse excursions he and Bucky went on out of Brooklyn, Tony felt lucky to be the one there with him while he made these new discoveries. He couldn’t stop smiling, and tried desperately not to giggle and blush like a schoolgirl whenever Steve looked over at him. He hadn’t felt this happy in a long time, and it almost made him forget the fact that he hadn’t technically told Steve they were on a date.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Tony stood in the door frame of the large, glass window that led out onto one of the expansive balconies of the Tower. The setting sun casted the most beautiful glow and medley of colours over the city, and he scanned the skyline before landing on the back of a golden haired head. He must’ve sighed too loud because Steve turned around then to look at who was there before giving him a smile.

 

“You’re not coming in for movie night?” Tony had to speak; he couldn’t just stand there and stare at him forever, no matter how much he’d like too.

 

Steve turned back to look out over the balcony. “No I think I’ll just sit out here for a bit, at least until the sun goes down. This is too beautiful to waste.” He must have been drawing.

 

 _If only you knew._ Tony quipped mentally at Steve’s last remark about the view. “Want some company then?” He strode across the balcony and plopped down next to the blonde.

 

“Oh, no, it’s alright.”

 

“No it’s fine. I can like, recite every word from Kill Bill anyway. It was Clint’s idea for a Tarantino marathon.”  Tony tried to just look out over the city while he spoke; the proximity might cause an embarrassing problem that he had to keep aware of.

 

Steve _was_ looking at him, however, and smiling. “They’re good movies.” After a beat which felt like forever, he went back to his drawing. They both wondered why Tony was the only one allowed to look at Steve’s drawings while he was drawing them, but Tony never bothered to ask and Steve thought it best not to read too much into it.

 

“You know,” Tony started, still looking at Steve’s work. “You love the city so much, and there’s so much you haven’t seen. I could…I mean _we_ could…take a little trip around? Sightseeing? Do the tourist thing?”

 

Steve stopped drawing and looked up at Tony. They were so close; Steve’s blue eyes were a deep ocean in the dim light, and Tony was failing at not staring at those soft, plump lips.

 

_Baseball…Cold showers…Hulk in lingerie…_

 

“What exactly does a ‘tourist thing’ refer to, to Tony Stark?” Steve said with a bit of a cheeky laugh.

 

“You know, I really love it when people use my full name as a substantive. I should be in the dictionary.”

 

This time Steve really did laugh at Tony’s sarcasm. “I think you already are.”

 

“Under ‘Generous-And-Thorough-Lover-Who’s-Fun-At-Parties’ right?”

 

Steve smiled and shook his head, turning back to his artwork. “Yeah you wish. And that’s more than one word.”

 

“It was hyphenated. So how about it?”

 

The blonde looked up to see an expectant smile and raised eyebrows on Tony’s face. “How about what?”

 

“The date! …The, uh….the sightseeing thing.” Tony quickly corrected himself; he didn’t want to scare Steve off.

 

Steve looked dubious though. “You’re serious? You just wanna idle around the city like two normal folks?”

 

Tony had to mentally correct for generational colloquialism. “Yes. Why is that so weird? We’re friends, right?” He both loved and hated saying that word, but it made Steve smile and nod. “Okay well this Saturday let’s just be two regular guys hanging out in the city, and I’ll show you all the cool shit you’ve never seen or never heard of. Sound fun?”

 

Tony was hoping beyond hope Steve would allow them to do this together. He noticed he was wary of doing things alone with Tony, and it was true that they were friends now. Even though he had ulterior motives for being alone with Steve and making a move, at this very moment he really was excited to just do something for Steve that would make him happy.

 

“Let’s do it.”

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The blob of orange mixed ketchup and mustard landed just to the left of the reactor on Tony’s Guns N Roses t-shirt.

 

“Oh come on!” he mumbled through a mouthful of hotdog. Steve just sniggered at him through his masticated wad of bread and meat. “Unbelievable.” Tony began furiously wiping at the daub of condiments and inevitable stain on his shirt.

 

“Okay, first of all, I warned you not to put that much ketchup and mustard on it.”

 

“Yes thank you, _mom_.” Tony quipped back at Steve’s admonishing.

 

Steve kept giggling. “And second, I thought we were dressing casual today, why are you so upset?”

 

“This was vintage!” Tony whined, while still licking and rubbing the napkin over the stain.

 

Steve’s eyes softened and he assuaged his laughter slightly. “Well then why did you wear it if it’s so important?”

 

Tony couldn’t just very well blurt out “ _Because I was trying to impress you”_ , even though that was the reason; he had to play his moves gently. He had told Steve to dress casually, not that the guy dressed any differently really apart from his Captain uniform and the occasional suit he was forced to wear to one of Tony’s parties. He liked wearing his military uniform to any of their functions. But Tony had suggested an even subtler appearance, if they were to play the unassuming tourists for the day and not get hounded by fans. Steve took extra steps, concealing his face a bit with a baseball cap and purposefully not shaving for the few days prior when Tony had offered the daytrip to gain a bit of stubble. Tony had never had a scruffy looking Steve star in any of his library of Steve inspired fantasies, but he was now definitely being introduced. The line of slightly darker blonde furs around his jawline made him look a bit older, and a lot more dangerous. Although that trademark pretty-boy innocence Steve exuded unintentionally was what initially caught Tony’s lustful eye and dirty mind, this harder edged look definitely toned down the innocence and filled Tony’s head with a rough, brute Steve that wouldn’t need any coaxing or gentleness when it came to subjects of the bedroom. Tony quickly derailed that train of thought before it had the chance to affect him physically, especially with said fantasy standing right in front of him with a hotdog in his mouth.

 

Tony sighed in defeat. “It’s fine. At least it’s not one of my dress shirts. Actually, you know what, scratch that. I wish it were one of my dress shirts.”

 

Steve just smiled and shook his head as he finished the last of his food, then balled up his napkins and tossed it in the trash can nearby.

 

“I hope I still look presentable enough for the museum.”

 

Steve’s eyes lit up as his head swung back to face Tony, looking the picture of nonchalance while stuffing the last of his hotdog into his mouth. “We’re going to a museum?” He was practically bouncing like a five year old; a smile from ear to ear. “Which one?”

 

“Well, I figured since we could only do one for the day, and since we all hit the Natural History one for their Avengers exhibit, you might be interested in the Museum Of Modern Art. An art buff like you has got to love it, and it being modern art might help catch you up to speed with the times.” Tony said as they got back in their buggy heading through the park to their next destination.

 

Steve really was a kid in a candy store. Tony loved art as well, but Steve just had this deep admiration and could see things in a way a lot of people, including Tony, couldn’t. It fascinated him to no end the things Steve would point out to him about a particular sculpture or painting. No one could’ve guessed this guy missed several important decades in cultural development because he seemed to be getting every tiny detail meant to be expressed in each piece they would see. Tony added his laymen input every now and then, but for the most part he just stood back and let Steve talk his heart out. Tony never thought the guy could be this chatty; he mostly stayed silent in a room with other people and only spoke up when he was looked to for his contribution on a particular subject, or out in the field when he was giving orders. Steve could easily get a job here as a tour guide, and probably put a lot of curators to shame.

 

They finally got to Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and Steve instantly recognized it. “Wow. It’s so different in person.”

 

“Ya it’s been knocked off so many times in so many ways you forget what it really looks like.” Tony sidled up beside him and they were both so entranced by the painting he didn’t even realize how close they were standing next to each other. He turned slightly to look at Steve and brushed his upper arm with his own. He opened his mouth to apologize and take a step back, but Steve didn’t notice anything and only smiled that hundred watt smile before turning back to the painting.

 

“It’s beautiful.” It was soft enough to be a whisper, and maybe Steve hadn’t even realized he said it, but it made Tony want to cry with the utter frustration of being next to someone who makes the beauty of a Van Gogh look like a grime smeared tile and not being able to say or do a damn thing about it.

 

He liked to think he was good at hiding his feelings, or acting like he didn’t even have them, but the frescos would’ve been jealous of Tony’s cracks at that moment. He had promised himself, and Pepper, to do this right and honourably, but all he wanted to do was grab that stupid, scruffy face and kiss him like it was the last breath he was ever going to take. Tony didn’t know if he could make it the rest of the day not childishly spewing out his feelings for Steve if this was how he was feeling now. He knew he had to come clean to Steve about his courtship sometime today, but he was only on step one and already willing to move in, marry, and adopt a Chinese baby girl with him. Slow and steady was not his forte, and being chivalrous was becoming increasingly difficult.

 

Maybe this was why Tony had never wanted to try being slow and gentlemanly before; it was too damn hard. He was used to having things fast and doing everything the easy way. Most things in Tony’s life came easy to him, and this was a whole new area of discovery he was not enjoying. But still, Tony had meant what he said to Pepper about never wanting anything this much, so maybe it was worth the wait and aggravation. Maybe that was _really_ why he never tried chivalry with any of his nameless, forgettable flavours of the week; he never wanted any of them enough to put himself through the arduous task of gaining their love with gestures to show them how meaningful that gain would be to him.

 

Tony snapped out of his reverie when he realized Steve was speaking.

 

“You wanna head to the next exhibit?”

 

Tony’s gape subsided and he blinked back to corporeality. “Ye-yeah, uh…let’s keep going.”

 

“Are you gunna tell me where we’re going after this? Or is the whole day a surprise?” Steve looked back to Tony trailing behind him with a smile.

 

Tony smirked as he followed Steve to the next wing. “I can tell you we gotta catch a train for the next surprise.” He could see the cogs turning in Steve’s head trying to figure out where they were headed next. It would have to be somewhere Steve hadn’t been, but nothing too touristy or it would probably be cheesy in Tony’s mind. Though Steve had no idea the amount of cheese and clichés Tony’s mind could apparently conjure and contain, if that Central Park buggy ride was any indication. Tony debated that idea over and over but for some reason, probably the epically romantic gallant knight residing in and slowly taking over his mind, he couldn’t shake how disgustingly happy the idea made him. Of course there would be no cuddling, hand holding, or super soldier armed embrace around his neck like his imaginative fantasy included, but just being able to even come close to having a clichéd romantic moment with Steve got those butterflies in his gut churning again.

 

They hopped the subway, which garnered surprisingly few looks from the passengers for the two of them; but Steve was pretty well disguised and Tony was in too much fantasy driven bliss to notice. When off the subway they walked to Greenwich Village, which Tony informed Steve had a rich cultural past. Being superheroes, or Tony Stark, they rarely got to mingle with regular people _as_ regular people and get lost in a crowd, but the streets of the village were lined with little stores and cafes that reminded Steve of a smaller New York with less skyscrapers and more “mom and pop” shops. He revelled in the laid-back scene and the two took their time peering into the stores that looked interesting to them. Tony had to admit he himself had rarely visited this area. Being who he was had kept him close to Midtown and Uptown, but he was sick of the places he knew like the back of his hand and wanted something he could maybe discover along with Steve. Living the life he had, though great, often made him miss the things that really made the city so beautiful, and he liked to be reminded now and then.

 

Clint would come here often whenever he took off with Phil, and the way those two were together when they thought no one was looking made Tony think maybe this was a romantic place. He asked Clint about it while devising his itinerary for the day with Steve, and he shared all his favourite spots with Tony and mentioned any others he thought Steve might enjoy.

 

Tony suddenly noticed as the day went on, that Steve was slowly letting his guard down. To most it wouldn’t look like Steve even had a guard up, but Tony knew about his slight aversion to people. He was very perceptive of how Steve acted around others, especially those he didn’t know very well, which was pretty much everyone. Tony really couldn’t blame him; accepting your death and then waking up to a world that’s gone on without you while everyone you knew and loved are dead has got to be more than jarring. Some days Tony wondered how Steve was even handling it, how he hadn’t gone mad by now. Tony knew about barriers, having a pretty strong one of his own, and he accepted Steve’s as a way to cope with not knowing who to trust or even what’s real. Their guards had kept them from getting along in the beginning, but since being forced into places where they needed to trust each other, they slowly let each other in and a friendship grew.

 

The barriers had thinned and Tony could see Steve’s miraculously falling away even more by the day’s events and Tony’s largesse, even if Steve wasn’t aware of it. Since he knew him he was a very “hands off” kind of guy, as was Tony to most people, but through the day Steve was standing a little bit closer, lingering his gaze a little bit longer, touching him a little more frequently, and Tony couldn’t help but reciprocate. Though he had no idea how anyone watching them couldn’t discern their behaviour as flirting, he still couldn’t bring himself to tell Steve what this really was all about. He had never been afraid of rejection before, arrogantly disbelieving it could happen to him, but standing so close to the object of his desire, enough that he could feel his warmth and smell the faint sweetness of his skin, he was terrified.

 

Luckily Tony was good at putting up a front and acting his arrogant, albeit toned down, carefree self while the two of them walked along the market and looked into all the kiosks set up. They stopped at one that Steve pointed out had hand-made Avengers bobble head dolls.

 

“Oh that’s just precious.” Tony couldn’t hold back a mirthful laugh as he picked up a Hawkeye one and shook it a little more than necessary, letting the giant head wiggle back and forth. He then proceeded to pick up the rest of them and give Steve an amusing impression of each of their teammates. He wasn’t sure how Steve would react, knowing his boy scout, anti-bully nature, but the blonde just laughed heartily, holding an Iron Man one in his own hands.

 

Steve’s laughter subsided a bit, but his gorgeous smile remained. “You always make me laugh.”

 

Tony would’ve taken that phrase with a grain of salt from anyone else, but the fact that he had been trying to impress Steve all day, and several weeks prior, and the mere notion that something so seemingly insignificant and unintentional done by Tony had made him happy, was something special. Just Tony being himself had made him happy. That novel idea pulled at his heart strings clear to snapping.

 

“I’m a funny guy.” _Nice one, keep it up._ He looked down a bit from Steve’s warm face to where he was still clutching the Iron Man bobble head. “So uh, you gunna do an impression of me now? And don’t tell me you have no material to work with cause I know that’s BS.”

 

Steve looked down at it, with what Tony could only decipher as affection. “Well a while ago I’m sure I would’ve probably had a lot to say, but now,” he then looked back up to Tony. “I wouldn’t have anything but nice things to say. It wouldn’t be very funny.”

 

Tony shook his head with an incredulous smile. “BS.” He then plopped down the Director Fury doll he’d been holding and picked up another Iron Man one. “Ma’am, how much?”

 

The woman looked out from her Enquirer magazine to reply. “Oh, um, let’s see…$10.”

 

“Here’s a fifty, keep the change.” Steve didn’t say anything, but did roll his eyes, and Tony wasn’t afraid he’d think he was being too flashy or cocky because he knew Tony really was very generous with his money, especially  to those he felt really could use it. The woman’s eyes went wide and she hesitated for a second, but didn’t refuse the offer. She did smile and thank Tony several times, however, before Steve reached into his jeans for his wallet and pulled out a ten of his own before picking up a Cap doll. “What are you doing?”

 

“Well I think your doll might want some company.” He handed the woman the money and insisted she take it after refusing to let him pay on account of the large sum Tony had given her.

 

Tony’s face softened and he never wanted to be able to lean in and embrace Steve more than at that moment, but he quickly recovered his façade. “Oh thanks, now I’m gunna have nightmares of them coming alive and trying to kill me in my sleep.”

 

Steve rolled his eyes again as he tucked the two bobble heads in the reusable bag they’d picked up earlier, along with some World War two memorabilia Steve had bought at a veteran's kiosk. “You know, with all the little robots you build I bet you could make them move on their own or something.” He smiled to himself.

 

“Don’t give me any ideas.”

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The two ate at a sweet little deli that Clint informed Tony was Coulson’s favourite, before getting back on the train heading back to Midtown.

 

“One more stop.” Tony told Steve. He didn’t question Tony’s destination choices anymore, realizing he liked the surprise, and just held onto one of the posts in the train car standing close to Tony and giving him that giddy smile.

 

Steve followed Tony out at the station and up the stairs to 42nd street and looked up to see the bright lights of Times Square. By now it was around 11pm and the city’s main attraction never looked so beautiful. Steve just stood, staring up and around at all the bright, flashing lights and captivating visuals the square had on display. Tony came up beside him and they looked at each other; Tony smiling with quiet satisfaction, and Steve with childlike wonderment. Tony noticed how Steve’s wide eyes sparkled in the light, and this time he did sigh.

 

Steve had seen Times Square a number of times in the years before, and even though it was still big and impressive in those days, it was no contender to the grandiose splendour it was now. After he had woken up, everything about this place was scary; the whole world was scary. He had wanted to see all the changes and everything he’d missed, but it was all so different now and he had just been learning to take everything in slowly. He liked being in the Stark Tower because he could still observe the city from a distance and yet not be caught in the chaos of it; it was safe there. He had gone out places on his own, but only a short, secure distance from the Tower and never for very long. When he had to venture out with the team as the Captain, he was too busy saving the city from whatever fresh hell they were dealing with to really take everything new in and leisurely look around. So when Tony offered this outing to him, he leapt at the idea of being able to actually see the city as it was now with someone there who knew it all and could be his anchor and safely guide him through this scary territory.

 

“This was really what I wanted you to see.” Tony spoke, still looking around. “Standing here, it really gives you perspective. Everyone here feels small looking up at all this.”

 

Steve was smiling at him again with quiet admiration. He then looked back up to where Tony was looking. “Yeah. I think it also shows what we’re capable of; that we created everything here, and coming from someone who missed everything in between, it’s amazing.”

 

“Well, not as good as my stuff.” Tony quickly added, with a little nudge to Steve’s arm.

 

Steve nudged back, keeping his strength in check. “I guess I have to agree that’s true.”

 

“Yes. You have too. Now, let’s get a drink.” Tony nodded in the direction they had to go with a chuckling Steve beside him.

 

They didn’t need to walk very far to end up at a place called The Horseshoe Tavern. Steve wrinkled his nose a bit at Tony.

 

“What? It’s an historic place.”

 

“A bar?” Steve wrinkled his eyebrows, even though Tony could see he was still smiling.

 

“Ya it’s a bar, but it’s very quaint. And there’s a stage in the back! You like music. Come on.” Tony linked arms with Steve, an act causing his pulse to quicken and those butterflies to flap ever faster, and brought him inside.

 

Tony did think the place looked a bit “divey”, but neither he nor Steve minded. “Vodka martini, dry, three olives. And for you?” He looked at Steve, who was still observing the place.

 

“What? Tony you know I don’t drink.”

 

“No, I know you can’t get drunk. Doesn’t mean you can’t drink. He’ll have a rum and Coke.”

 

Steve made a face that said _ew_ , then suddenly turned his head to the right as he heard music coming from the back. “Can we go back there?”

 

“That’s where we’re going.” Tony picked up their drinks and followed Steve to the sound of the music.

 

They stopped past the bar, behind the small set of tables and chairs, to see a beautiful woman standing on the stage in a white, sequent dress singing “I’ll Be Seeing You.”

 

“I know this song!” Steve exclaimed excitedly as he looked over to Tony with another wide grin. Tony just nodded and returned the smile, then nudged at Steve to sit at the side on a row of plush benches along the wall. He sat next to him and set their drinks down on the table in front. Well, Steve’s drink anyway.

 

Steve kept looking back and forth between the woman and Tony, who wore the most shit eating grin, while singing along.

 

“She’s a cover singer. She does songs from like, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington; you know, that kind of stuff. She’s here every Saturday.” He took a sip of his martini. “She’s good, right?”

 

When the song was nearing it’s end, Steve turned all the way to face Tony; his eyes narrowed in an expression Tony couldn’t place. “Tony…did you bring me here because you knew there’d be music that I’d recognize and like?”

 

Tony gulped and waited for a beat trying to decide what to say. He didn’t want to be found out before he had a chance to tell Steve his feelings or what this whole day was really about. He downed the rest of his drink before speaking. “Well don’t you?”

 

Steve looked like he was deep in thought as well, but in the end he just smiled back at Tony. “Yeah, I do….I just….well I guess I just want to say thank you, for this whole day. I mean, you didn’t have to do all this for me, but it was amazing. So, thank you.”

 

Those soft, kind eyes were going to be the death of Tony. Steve knew he had planned this day for him, but hopefully he didn’t know his real motives behind it. Tony couldn’t even tell if Steve really did know the truth, but if he did he wasn’t acting any differently. Maybe he didn’t feel the same way but he didn’t want to hurt Tony by turning him down. Steve turned back toward the stage as another song started up, and Tony opened his mouth to try and say something, but the waitress chose that moment to interrupt.

 

“Can I get you guys anything?”

 

“Uh, yeah. Can I just have a regular Coke?” Steve hadn’t touched his alcoholic drink, so Tony thought it futile to bother getting him something else and making him drink. He knew it would have no effect on Steve, but he still just wanted him to drink with him lest Tony look like a lush, which normally he wouldn’t mind but he was trying to give off the right image. Maybe that was futile as well.

 

“Right, two Cuba Libres, one virgin.” If he was still going to go through with his plan, he unfortunately was going to need some liquid courage to do it.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Five more drinks and several songs later, it was around 2am. The bar was open until three but as the singer finished her set with a beautiful rendition of “Cry Me A River”, most of the people were piling out. Everyone clapped as she bowed and made it off the stage, Steve being the most enthusiastic one standing and whistling. Tony got up to follow Steve’s example, but he only got one clap out before staggering into the table and knocking the empty glasses over and off, a couple smashing on the ground. The bartender gave him a scowl and he made a wincing face before mouthing _“Sorry”_ and trying to pick up the glasses.

 

“No, no, sit down. Better let me handle that.” Steve put his arms around Tony and set him down gently back on the bench. Tony noticed his eager lean into Steve’s embrace and soft hum, but he figured he could chock it up to the alcohol if Steve mentioned it. “I think we should head home.”

 

“You’re the captain.” Tony gave a weak salute and stood to go pay the bartender for the drinks. Steve crouched a bit and put Tony’s arm around his shoulder for support as he helped walk them over to the bar and let Tony slip the bartender an extra fifty for the broken glasses. He didn’t seem very nonplussed about it, probably knowing who Tony was but not saying anything.

 

“Think you can walk? Or should I get a cab.” Steve’s face was so close to Tony’s as he spoke. He could smell the sugar from the Coke and various sweets Steve liked to eat. Tony’s eyes were half-lidded and he was sure they had a dreamy look in them, but as much as he wanted to lean up and kiss those beautiful sweet lips, he still couldn’t do it. The words refused to form in his mouth, and now with the added heavy buzz from the alcohol his tongue felt even thicker and his mind even more muddled than before.

 

He reluctantly pushed himself softly away from Steve to stand on his own. He was a bit wobbly, but the effects of inebriation were fairly commonplace to him after all these years and he had learned to function despite them. “I think m’good. S’long as you’re the one t’take me home.” He hoped his smile still looked charming in this state.

 

“I would never leave a drunk Tony Stark on his own. Who knows what kind of mischief you’d get up too.” Steve placed his hand softly on the small of Tony’s back, helping to guide his walking and keeping contact in case he did keel over. The tower really wasn’t that far away, and the cool night air was fresh and soothing to the both of them. Tony staggered a bit and Steve caught his elbow in his strong hand to prevent him from falling. He giggled slightly. “Is this how you planned the day to end?”

 

Tony knew he was referring to him getting drunk. “Well this’s usually how my days end.” _But this day was special. It was supposed to end differently._ He mentally kicked himself for losing grasp of this whole stupid courtship plan. He knew if he hadn’t worked up the courage to make a move earlier there was no chance for it now. Steve would never take him seriously in this condition. It was going to be a while before he could come up with another plan to win Steve over and confess his feelings for him, or maybe it was hopeless to even try. Maybe he should just blurt it all out one day when he passed Steve on the common floor or in the gym and get the rejection over with. He couldn’t even savour the feeling of Steve’s arm linked with his; the depressant coursing through him taking it’s toll.

 

They rode the elevator together up the tower in silence; Steve still sticking closely by Tony even though he was leaning fairly steadily against the mirrored wall of the lift. He chanced a glance at the blonde and was somewhat satisfied that he didn’t look unhappy. He replayed the gratitude Steve gave him earlier over in his mind and it eased him a bit. At least maybe parts of the day, or the beginning of it, could be salvaged as a kind deed done by a friend to make someone they care about happy. He could live with that, and maybe in time that word would sting less.

 

Of course they stopped at Tony’s floor first, Steve being the truly chivalrous one making sure he got home safely. He even stepped in with him to the living room area to see him off. Tony wasn’t going to try anything, he had given up on that thought after getting too drunk to even honestly and cohesively tell Steve all the things he wanted to tell him. “So um, guess I better head t’bed. M’gunna have a killer headache n’the morning. Was fun though.” They just stood there, staring at each other. Steve still held the expression he had in the elevator, one that Tony couldn’t place. He didn’t know if his inebriation was hindering his ability to read people, or if he just had never seen that look on Steve before. He still desperately wanted to reach out and touch the man before him, hug him in all the combined closeness he’d had snippets of from the day, kiss him and taste all the sugary sweetness he could practically taste in his scent earlier, tell him all the ways he clouded his mind and haunted his thoughts and dreams with the simple act of being his frustratingly innocent, naïve, kind, bright, positive, protecting self; but he couldn’t.

 

Tony was ready to smash the expensive glass coffee table with all his pent up frustration, so he gave Steve a soft nod and turned to head for his bedroom.

 

“Really?” Tony heard from behind him and turned around a little too quickly. “That’s it?” Steve had his brows knitted in confusion, but he was smiling.

 

“What’s what?” Tony really didn’t know where this was going.

 

Steve stepped up to him slowly. “After all that you’re not gunna even make a move?”

 

Tony looked around in puzzlement, then stopped back at Steve. “I, uh, don’t-“

 

“Tony, I may be young and really out of the loop with most things, but I’m not stupid.”

 

Tony started to catch on and his eyes widened. Okay, now he was scared. “I know…you’re not. I…ugh…Steve…” he put his head in his hands with a sigh, and then suddenly felt another’s over his wrists.

 

Steve pulled them off his face and Tony looked up into his. He looked just as apprehensive and unsure, but a lot more serene. “Can I…kiss you?”

 

Tony’s heart sped up and his brain kicked into overdrive as half of it was screaming _yes yes yes_ while the rational half was trying to will his body not to jump Steve. He nodded with the most desperate sigh he’d ever uttered and in an instant he was actually living his current fantasy. He never thought the phrase “being kissed breathless” held any merit, but after being able to touch those plush lips with his own he thought he never needed to breathe again, so long as his mouth could be occupied by Steve’s.

 

They finally broke apart, Steve with an _“Mmm”_ that made Tony’s knees weak, and Tony got to catch Steve’s eyes fluttering open. His boyish blush nearly covered his entire face, but his dreamy smile matched Tony’s, so he figured it was okay.

 

Tony sighed with his fingers entwined in soft blonde hair and his forehead against Steve’s. “Could I have done that this morning?”

 

Steve giggled and the warm breath tickled Tony’s face. “Probably.”

 

“Fuck me.” He said with exasperated vexation.

 

Steve titled his head and gave Tony a cocky smile. “Now that might be moving a little fast.”

 

There were only a handful of people that could make Tony Stark blush. Once when he was young and didn’t realize the woman he picked up was a hooker until she started giving him quotes, another when Pepper caught him jazzercising a little too enthusiastically to Aqua, and several embarrassing moments in his troubled youth with his dad; but after that quick remark he had a flush on his cheeks that could rival Steve’s. “Guess I won’t invite you to stay the night then.”

 

Steve gave him that soft, sweet smile as he ran his hand down Tony’s arm then linked their hands. “I like where this is going. Let’s just keep taking it slow.”

 

Tony nodded, he liked that idea too, but his curiosity was brimming. “So…you knew this whole time?”

 

Steve ducked his head and laughed, while still holding on to Tony’s hand. “No, not the whole time, but I was hoping. I know you can be generous and sweet when you wanna be, I’ve just never seen you do this much for anyone else.”

 

“Too much?” Tony winced.

 

“No! No, it was perfect.” Steve leaned in again and squeezed Tony’s hand as he placed a chaste kiss on the corner of Tony’s mouth. “Perfect.”

 

Tony decided then that yes, all the arduous planning and frustrating aggravation was worth it. Anything for Steve was worth it. And he would put himself and his muddled brain and dubious heart through a million more days of the same if he could end every one of them like this. They had time to find out what they were and where they were headed, the important thing was that the feeling was reciprocated. Tony could ask all his questions later and Steve could worry about what the team or SHEILD would think, but right at that moment being in each other’s arms and pressed to one another like two halves of a mould that were made to fit, they both were where they wanted to be, and the universe could align itself around them.

 

Steve pulled back to look into Tony’s eyes. “Next date, I get to make the plans.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So I found myself singing “Closing Time” in my head one day and the lyrics in the chorus gave me an idea for my first Avengers fic. For some reason I had this idea of Tony taking Steve to a bar on a covert date and then getting too drunk to tell him his feelings, thus Steve having to take him home, and then that idea kind of snowballed out of control into 12 bloody pages. I figured it would be a nicer idea for Tony to take Steve around the city sightseeing first, but being a Canadian that’s essentially never left her home, I needed a working understanding of the layout of NYC, Manhattan specifically, so I asked for some help. Two amazing people came to my rescue and gave me more than I could’ve ever asked for with information on a bunch of little things as well as some awesome ideas for an itinerary. Of course I snuck in a little Canuck scenery with the bar they go to, which is an actual historic club in Toronto, but I don’t think they really host music like that lol. And although Stony is my OTP, I had to sneak in a bit of my other equally loved OTP (Clint/Coulson), but it’s really just mentioned in passing.
> 
> I really hadn’t planned for this to be as long as it is or as detailed, but I just got so much inspiration from the two lovely people for whom this is dedicated that it turned into this. And although I am a huge romance peddler, I think the amount of fluff might be tipping the scales a bit lol, so I hope it’s still good. There’s also a couple Big Bang Theory jokes in there for some reason lol. I'm still not entirely happy with the ending, I think it feels kinda rushed. I dunno, I think it started out well but I really suck at ending stories. I'm fairly pleased with it overall though.
> 
> This is dedicated to two awesome users on LJ, aim2misbhave and nawilla, who helped me so much with all the information about NYC and without I could’ve never written this. If there are any mistakes about locations or street names or anything like that (apart from the obvious Toronto landmark lol) they’re my fault.


End file.
